To Love a Demon
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: "Bonds are precious. They make you stronger, even if you don't realize it." For the sake of his new bonds, and that of his new Nindo, he vows to start anew and protect all of his precious people. No matter the cost. Narutoxharem! Rating may change later!


**A/N: WARNING! Semi-dark Naruto contained within these pages! Honestly, I'm surprised that no one has thought of this yet. As stated in my said summary, Naruto will have a harem, but this one will be "unique" even by my standards! Also, I apologize if certain character's are OOC. This IS an AU fic after all, as I I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!**

_Bonds are precious. They make you stronger, even if you don't know it. That's why I want to have a lot of precious bonds with a lot of precious people._

_~Uzumaki Naruto._

**Allegiance**

He was held in the lockup for the three weeks. In that time he recovered from his many physical wounds and was able to sleep and eat three meals a day. He'd learned that he'd been arrested so quickly that day because, as one captor told him, his picture was on the face of every bingo book in the country. He was questioned a dozen times by those men, then the women, and then by people who never identified themselves, but who he knew were from the Anbu Black Ops.

He said nothing to the former or the latter. To the spooks he said only the same thing over and over again: "Where am I?" and "And what am I doing here?" Neither question ever got answered. He was never given the payment he'd been promised. Instead he was kept in a cell, alone, twenty-four hours a day. The only information anyone would tell was that he would soon face another secret military court, similar to the one that had convicted him a month before in Konoha, and that he was facing a life sentence and _then_ execution. In that time, he wasn't allowed any newspapers, was not allowed to watch any TV. He was given no information on what had happened to the other people he'd been traveling with. He wasn't even sure anyone knew he was there.

On the twenty-second day in custody, he was told to pack up his meager belongings and that he was being tranpsorted to a more secure facility upstate. He was given some plain civilian clothes and then two faceless shinobi led him out to a black carriage by way of the lockup's rear entrance. He was put into the back of the carriage and driven to a large building positioned squarely in the middle of the enclosure.

A small and dark-skinned woman was waiting there, flanked by an additional pair of faceless anbu. The shinobi undid his handcuffs and turned him over to her, standing at the beginnings of a staircase. He climbed them, aware that the woman and her silent escort opted to follow him up the stairs, rather than lead. It didn't take long to understand it. The staircase was empty and hollow and in the end, with the guards at his back, he was forced to comply.

He felt a cool breeze tickle whiskered cheeks as he ascended the stairs; likewise tousling the messy mop of blond that was his hair. Eyes of deep and dark sapphire, struggling to adjust against the murky gloom in which he walked, narrowed in consternation. He wasn't in Konoha anymore. He'd fled that place long ago; forsaking it in favor of a place where his particular talents would be respected. The last thing he remembered after approaching this village was a black specter, descending upon him and those surrounding him. Then...nothing. He'd awoken in a cell and been confined there for twenty-one days. This was his first time out and the possibility of escape didn't even occur to him as he slowly wound his way around the spiraling stairwell.

Finally, he could go no further. The staircase leveled out abruptly, revealing a wooden door. Ornately carved, it barred his path, preventing him from proceeding into the room beyond. He tried the handle. It was locked. Not knowing what else to do he knocked. Once. Twice. Thrice. Only then did the door swing from its hinges and open. Light surged into the blackness and banished the shadows. He squinted against the sudden glare as it poured into the room and eclipsed the stairwell; silhouetting a lone figure against the harsh luminance, sitting behind a desk.

"Enter!" A deep double-timbre voice commanded from just beyond his vision. He hesitated for a moment, uncertainy seizing his frame. He wasn't about to set foot into a room without preparing himself. In the end, he needn't have bothered. Strong hands seized his shoulders and shoved him. _Not gently._ He stumbled the last few steps forward into a room with wide glass pane windows and nearly fell flat on his face. He caught at a nearby wall to steady himself and whirled; glaring bloody red daggers at the offending party who'd levered him into the office...

...only to find himself face to face with a stranger.

He was a tall dark-skinned man with a large muscular build; his blond hair combed back, hearkening toward a small moustache and beard. His face was very distinguished in and of itself with pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes, and a prominent crease across his forehead. His very prescence radiated strength and power. Sheer and unrivalled power; unleashed upon his foes without notice and without warning. The man grinned; exposing pointed canines in a show of warmth and amusement. It was terrifyingradiating gentle amusement, even as his guest entered.

"You've done us a great service, boy." The man smiled, gesturing to a large scroll laid out across his equally large desk. "With this, we may no longer need the Byakugan." He sealed the scroll and placed it beneath a massive forearm. "Now to the matter at hand." The smile slipped from his face like running water. "The symbol upon your hitiate tells me you are a Konoha Shinobi. Likely a genin." The man nodded, noting the charigned expression etched into the boy's visage. "For a genin such as you to approach our village while in possession of the Scroll of Sealing, let alone how you came to be in possession of such an item, is unheard of. Tell me, what could you possibly hope to gain from such an audacious action?"

The boy fidgeted under the weight of the man's stare and said nothing. In turn _he _said nothing. Instead, he steepled his hands and laid his chin to rest upon them, content to wait while his guest gathered himself. The silence was deafening. At last, the boy broke it with a small sob. His eyes were scrunched in a vain attempt to force the tears back and his hands balled into fists even as he struggled to find the words.

"I...I want to join you."

The man arched an eyebrow.

"You want to join me?" A low chuckle; this one was full of surprises. "And what more can you offer me, boy?"

"The Kyuubi." The boy's tone was flat and dejected. "I can give you the Kyuubi." It was the voice of a child who'd given up. Someone who was dead inside. A life that had no meaning; nothing to lose and every thing in the world to gain. What's more, he spoke of the monstrosity within him as though it were his only friend in the world. In Konoha, he would have been beaten within a inch of his life for spouting such blasphemy. Here, his words evoked a different response entirely.

If the silence had been deafening before, now, it was overwhelming. Slowly, the man rose from his seat. He circled his desk, approaching the boy in a slow, languid stride. His expression inscrutable, he knelt before him and in a surprisingly gentle movement, took the child's tattered jacket from his shoulders. It slipped through his fingertips like the wind, falling into a crumpled heap upon the floor of his office.

"This is-**!**

Both the man and his aide raised an eyebrow as they saw the mesh shirt beneath the jacket, his chest was slightly toned, you could see a small amount of muscle underneath the tanned skin but there wasn't much fat, as would be expected by a child. That was where the normalcy ended. Beyond that the boy's ribcage became clearly visible. Such a sign of malnutrition. KI washed over the room as the man's hands trembled but the _woman's_ eyes seemed almost aflame as she looked at his ribs; standing out as skin clung to his frame. The boy flinched slightly at the killer intent remained, but continued showing how his sunken stomach all the same. It looked like there was almost nothing there at all. You could almost see his spine. Finally he pulled the mesh shirt off and put it on the ground beside the jacket. Both of the adults were a bit mollified when they saw the decent muscles there, but inevitably their attention drifted back to his stomach as the biy began molding chakra. Almost immediately, a symbol appeared, outlined against his virtually non-existent stomach.

"There's only one man who can perform is the Eight Trigram Seal." The man mused to himself. _"To think he'd seal it within his own son!"_ He gazed upon the seal for a moment and wondered at the boy. Kumogakure had long since suspected Minato to have sired an heir though he was said to have perished during the Kyuubi's attack. Clearly _that_ was a bold-faced lie. He stood before them now, alive_-though not exactly well-_with the demon sealed within him! No doubt Konoha wanted to keep the boy's existence a secret for obvious reasons. Had the Raikage learned of his existence a month earlier, he'd have slain the boy on the spot. But now that he stood before them, he found his hand stayed.

Kumo stood at odds with Konoha. Therefore, it stood to reason that the boy would try to _avoid_ the enemies of his village. Once again, he'd gone against the grain. Did he truly not know that Kumogakura already had two jinchuuriki of its own? Was he really that ignorant? Or did he hold to the hope that the Nine-Tails would somehow afford him some sort of advantge over Yugito and Bee? Honestly, the Raikage didn't know _what_ to make of him. Part of him wanted nothing more than to kill the boy. The other, more rational side of him, argued for his already held a one-jinchuuriki advantage over all the villages save Iwa. With this child, that advantage would be brought to the fore, tenfold. The Niibi. The Hachibi. The Kyuubi. With three tailed beasts_-not to mention the secrets of the Scroll of Sealing-_the Hidden Cloud would be but unstoppable if_-when-_the nextwar came. They might even be able to attain the Byakugan! And if they bred the bloodline of the Hyuuga clan with the son of the Yellow Flash...

With a small sigh, the Raikage drew himself back from the brink. So many possibilites. Too many. He was counting his eggs before they even hatched. _Assuming_ he could try to capture the Byakugan again without repercussions. _Assuming_ he'd succesfully wage war against Konoha and her allies if it came to that. _Assuming_ they would trumph. Too many assumptions. First, he needed to convince the boy to throw his lot in with Kumo. The rest would come later.

"Boy," The Raikage began, choosing his words carefully. "What is your name?"

A faint hope sparkled in the boy's eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto...sir."

_No doubt they gave him his mother's surname to protect him. And he respects his elders. Good. _Feigning disinterest, the Raikage stood. He returned to his desk and sat down, but not before retrieving a small piece of parchment. Signing his name upon said document, he held it out for the boy to read. When Naruto only squinted, the Raikage nearly facepalmed and lost his temper outright. Ignorant fools! Hadn't they taught him to read and write! Mentally, A made a note to reasses the boy's education, once they finished up here. After he was introduced to Yugito and Bee, of course.

"What's this?" Naruto asked, still squinting at the document. "Do I have to sign it?" He appeared dejected at the thought. "Um...I can't write." The Raikage sighed and ran his hands through his hair in consternation. Forcing a cough, he decided to forgo written procedure and making things easier for himself and the lot of them. Come to think of it, he never was one for procedure anyway...

_"Uzumaki Naruto!" _A barked loudly. "Are you willing to forsake all ties with the Hidden Leaf Village? Will you sever all bonds with your comrades and swear an oathe of fealty to the daimyo of the land of lightning?"

"H-Hai!" The boy stiffened at attention.

"Raikage-sama!" Mabui exclaimed aghast, "You can't possibly-

The Raikage grinned.

"Oh, but I can, Mabui." Slowly, the Raikage turned his gaze toward Naruto. "What say you then, Naruto? Will you strive to do your utmost in all matters related to the Hidden Cloud and her people? Will you complete all tasks assigned to you without objection, and without fail? Will you accept the synbol of Kumogakure as your own Will you defend her borders and her allies in times of peace and in times of war? Will you lay your life down for the sake of your village, and your Kage?" The silence held them in its sway for what felt like an eternity as the boy raised his gaze to meet the Raikage's, and for a moment, it looked like he would refuse. A needn't have worried.

Naruto's grin was positively beatific.

"Of course!"

"Then I hereby induct you as Kumogakure genin!" The Raikage bellowed! "Know that you are forever welcome within our walls!" In one fluid motion he rose from his desk, his body turning toward the giant window pane that framed the wall. "Now, follow me!" Without further ado, he burst _through_ the glass, shattering it into a thousand pices. Mabui couldn't help but sigh as Naruto unflinchingly followed his superior out the window, heedless of the sheer drop awaiting him.

"Not again...

In all honesty, the boy had left an impression on her. Not only had he been able to escape Konoha's borders with grave injury, but he'd successfully smuggled the Scroll out as well. That bespoke of talent in and of itself, talent most genin lacked at their age. He seemed to have a reckless streak, however. _Anyone_ who barreled out of window like their Raikage-sama was reckless, in her opinion. He was like a younger version of Bee-san, minus the incessant rapping.

And yet there was just something about him...

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh?" She mused softly to herself, her face darkening in amusement as a sharp cry echoed ou from below. Apparently he'd realized his foolishness in trying to emulate Raikage-sama without preparing himself. Shee and Darui were going to tease him incessantly about it. Nevertheless, the boy had promise. He had guts. He had an indomitable will to survive, to thrive, even under the worst circumstances imaginable. That was a quality she admired in a shinobi, foolhardy though it was. Someday he'd see how foolish he was; after meeting Bee and Yugito he might even change completely. Nevertheless...

He'd impressed her.

_"You'll make a fine shinobi someday, Uzumaki Naruto."_

**A/N: I thank the illustrious VFSNAKE for giving me this wonderful idea! Oh yes, we've seen Naruto steal the Scroll of Sealing time and time again, but each and EVERY time it convenientely returns to the village, with none the wiser. Such a waste, I thought to myself! Imagine the kind of Jutsu contained within! If someone were to, say, steal said scroll, then would it not be disastrous for Konoha as a whole? I certainly think so! This story will follow the events of Naruto and Naruto Shipuuden, though things will obviously be MUCH different with Naruto now serving under the Raikage. Which means we get to see Samui, Karui, and Yugito next chappy! YAY! Konoha beware! There will be a reckoning come the Chunin Exams! But feat not! Prominent kunoichi such as Haku(she's a girl I say!) Tayuya, Yakumo, and co. will still have their debut!**

**Now, any votes as to what Team Naruto should have? Bee is OBVIOUSLY out because he is much older than Naruto, AU or no. Naruto calls him "Octopops" for a reason LOLZ. Maybe I'll make him his sensei? Now wouldn't that be fun! Lessee, so many options in which to take this story, and yet so little time in which to do them! Be sure to vote and offer ideas, everyone! Also, I apologize for the shortness, fools ya fools! XD**

**Love you all and thank you for your continued support of this and all my other stories! Be sure and tell me what you think! _Thanks for stopping by!_**

**_~Nz_**

**_P.S:_**

**_R&R! =D_**


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